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“Roll with Me” On Netflix

posted on November 26, 2018

You read that right. The film that chronicles Gabriel Cordell’s amazing journey across the United States on his wheelchair is going to Netflix.

Over the course of 100 days, Cordell rolled 3,100 miles though 13 states, starting in Santa Monica, California, and ending in West Hempstead, New York. He suffered 100-degree days, 30-degree nights, severe shoulder pains, and several spills to the asphalt.

But that was easier than getting this documentary to the people.

Director Lisa France was a struggling LA filmmaker, thinking about giving it up for nursing when she learned about Cordell and his plan to cross the country in an unmodified wheelchair. One promo video and a Kickstarter later, they were on their way. It wasn’t easy, as crew members struggled with their own demons, but they made a family and made it through.

The drama didn’t end with filming, however. Even though Jorja Fox and Sharon Swart, a former journalist in Los Angeles, joined on as producer, they weren’t able to get distribution. Relegated to the film festival circuit (where they did well), the next jump camp when Ava DuVernay’s company, Array, picked up Roll With Me with an eye to releasing it on Netflix.

And that brings us to today.

ARRAY will release Roll With Me on select screens around the country starting in Los Angeles and New York on November 26 and on Netflix beginning December 1, just prior to International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3. This day honors the estimated one billion people living with disabilities worldwide.